Golfers weigh in on DeBell

Online survey seeks input on people¿s use of the course and other local courses.

November 08, 2011|By Maria Hsin, maria.hsin@latimes.com

A golfer at DeBell Golf Club in Burbank. (File Photo)

More than 500 golfers have participated in an online survey about DeBell Golf Club as a consultant hired by the city to turn the troubled course around starts evaluating strengths and weaknesses.

A senior project manager for National Golf Foundation, which was brought on board in September, said the response has been strong.

“It’s too early to look at the results, but it’s one of the strongest responses we’ve received in comparison to other municipalities we’ve worked with,” said the project manager, Ed Getherall.

Among the questions asked in the survey are how often golfers use DeBell, how much they spend per visit, and if they play at other courses in the area.

The foundation also conducted a field visit in late October that included meetings with city officials, golf course staff and members of the DeBell oversight committee, he said.

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“The field visit went rather well. It was very productive,” Getherall said.

The survey, posted on the city’s website, will likely be up for another two to three weeks, he added.

Scott Scozzola, director of golf at DeBell, said that a paper version of the survey has been available at the golf shop and restaurant, and that an email with a link to the survey was sent to about 9,500 people in the club’s database.

“I felt we had our bases covered with the email blasts, which cover the majority of the golfing constituents,” Scozzola said in an email. “The intent with having the link on the [city’s] website was to make it more accessible to the Burbank community.”

Upon completion of the survey, participants can print a $5 discount coupon on an 18-hole round of golf.

The National Golf Foundation’s research also included site visits to DeBell’s competitors, including the Wilson and Harding municipal courses at Griffith Park, which are operated by the city of Los Angeles.

“The next several weeks, we’ll analyze all the data and put a report together,” Getherall said.

The draft report will also include results of the survey.

“We’ll see what the strengths and weaknesses appear to be,” Getherall said.

Cash flow, an examination of the club’s operating structure and a look at how other municipalities manage their courses will also be part of the report, which could be ready by early December, he added.

“Once we get it back, we generally turn around a final report pretty quickly,” he said.